FRIDAY FOTO (May 4, 2012)

Two big combat-tough trucks known as mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAPS) vehicles stand ready for the return of a combined patrol of U.S. paratroopers and Afghan soldiers in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. The endless blue sky and the mountains below it appear to shrink the huge armored transport vehicles into insignificance. Click on the photo to see a bigger image.

The paratroopers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. They were conducting a 72-hour joint patrol with the Afghan soldiers. To see more photos from the patrol click here and here.